Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

The medical news didn’t improve for the Celtics Sunday morning. Avery Bradley has what Celtics coach Brad Stevens termed a “pretty significant” strained right hamstring, and is doubtful to return for the rest of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series against Atlanta.

Bradley strained the hamstring after landing awkwardly following his attempt to block a Jeff Teague shot in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ Game 1 loss to Atlanta Saturday night. In related news, Kelly Olynyk missed Sunday’s practice to rest a strained right shoulder, which he aggravated last night. It is the same injury that forced Olynyk to miss 12 games earlier this season.

“Avery has a pretty significant strained hamstring, I would say would be doubtful for any of the remainder of the series, certainly very unlikely Tuesday night,” said Stevens. “As of right now I would say he’s out Tuesday night, but obviously he’ll continue to get treatment around the clock and go from there. So I would say very unlikely the rest of the series.”

Herald – Celtics’ Bradley doubtful for rest of series; Olynyk unsure about game 2

What was all but confirmed by Avery Bradley’s inability to put on his own damn pants in the aftermath of a nasty hamstring strain late in Saturday night’s 102-101 loss in Atlanta is now even closer to official. Brad Stevens did not go so far as to say AB is definitively out for the rest of the series, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario in which he’s back out on the floor during this opening round at even close to 100%.

John laid out Stevens’ most likely plan going forward yesterday morning: Marcus Smart playing the Avery Bradley role and Terry Rozier playing the Smart role off the bench. Rozier is in the mold of Smart — a bulldog defender who rebounds impressively for his size and isn’t much of an offensive threat. If Smart can continue to contribute on the offensive end like he did in game one, the Celtics may be able to withstand Bradley’s absence. It’s a huge “if” and as great as Smart is defensively, the Cs will sorely miss Bradley’s on-ball pressure. If the game is in the balance late, the Celtics will have to determine if it’s worth sticking Evan Turner on Teague again, who pick and rolled Boston to death in the last few minutes, or switching Smart on to Teague and putting Turner on Kent Bazemore.

More Smart, even if it is in the absence of Bradley, is a good thing overall. I said it from the opening quarter last night: Marcus Smart is oozing confidence, even if some of it is misplaced on the offensive end. Whereas the Cs looked tentative early on, Smart was ready to fire. AB will be sorely missed, but I think Smart is going to continue to play well on both ends in this series.

Buried into the opening paragraphs of Murphy’s piece was that little tidbit on Kelly Olynyk’s shoulder. It’s the same shoulder that kept Olynyk out for about a month in February and March. Olynyk played only 12 minutes on Saturday and was completely passed over for Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and smaller lineups in the fourth quarter. From a depth perspective, however, losing Olynyk for game two would be a blow. He’s also a guy who can provide some sorely needed spacing to open the paint against this stingy Hawks defense. If Olynyk cannot go, I’m not certain anyone new gets those minutes. It probably means a little more Jerebko, who looked a step slow and indecisive defensively and clanked a couple wide open looks from deep.

Related links: CSNNE – Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley ‘very unlikely’ to play rest of series vs. Atlanta Hawks  |  ESPN – Avery Bradley of Boston Celtics unlikely to play in rest of Atlanta Hawks series due to hamstring strain  |  Mass Live: Avery Bradley injury: Hamstring likely to sideline Boston Celtics guard for remainder of Atlanta Hawks playoff series  | Herald – Olynyk could join Bradley on the sidelines

Page 2: Terry Rozier: time for your close-up

“College, high school, all my life,” Rozier said. “Just have to stay focused. Just because it happened all my life, doesn’t mean I’ll do good now. I just have to take care of the little things before I started thinking about anything big.”

You can count Evan Turner among those who likes the growth he has seen in Rozier who was selected by Boston with the 16th overall pick in last June’s NBA draft.

“I thought he did some of his best moves down the stretch,” Turner said. “I think the last road game he played was versus the (Los Angeles) Lakers. I think he went in transition and made a euro move. I said ‘Congratulations, welcome to the league.’ It was like the first move he did since he’s been playing with us, that looked like a Terry move where he wasn’t thinking too much. I think this will be a great opportunity for his development.”

CSNNE – Rozier knows he has to ‘step up and play hard’ with Bradley out

Many a head were scratched when the Celtics selected Terry Rozier out of Louisville with the 16th pick in the 2015 NBA draft. The common refrain was that Boston already had two better Terry Roziers in Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart.

Now, Rozier will be called upon to likely D up Dennis Schroder for the remainder of this series. The Turner quote above is key, as it reads like a right of passage for a rookie who looked completely out of control offensively during most of his minutes this season. Tuesday, the Cs need Rozier to play within himself on that end of the floor and limit turnovers — anything else would be a bonus. Rozier is saying all the right things about being ready, but there’s a difference between being mentally ready and being physically ready for playoff basketball. If he’s not ready, the Cs are going to wish they had a more experienced Bradley/Smart clone instead of the rookie.

Related links: ESPN – Boston Celtics rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter ready to play

And finally…

Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy didn’t wait long before unleashing his first verbal salvo in his team’s first-round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While discussing the Pistons’ composure during an interview with ESPN’s Lisa Salters at the end of the first quarter of Sunday’s 106-101 Game 1 loss to the Cavs, the loquacious coach directed frustration toward the officials for what he felt were missed calls that went LeBron James‘ way.

“A couple calls have upset our guys,” Van Gundy told Salters. “They’ve got to understand, LeBron’s LeBron. They’re not going to call offensive fouls on him. He gets to do whatever he wants. They’ve got to understand that.”

ESPN – Stan Van Gundy says refs biased to LeBron James, backtracks

Count me among those glad to see SVG back in front of a mic and a bench come playoff time. Even though Van Gundy backtracked, it’s possible he sees some type of repercussion from the league. I still think the Pistons have the personnel to bother Cleveland in this series, and save for some silly Reggie Jackson ball-pounding and immaturity, may have stolen game one. Van Gundy’s right about one thing, NBA refs are going to swallow whistles on questionable plays regarding James and he may as well prepare his guys for it.

The rest of the links: CSNNE – Boston Celtics ready to step up with Avery Bradley sidelined  |  Mass Live – How to replace Avery Bradley: Not an easy decision for Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens  |  Herald – After slow start, Celtics come alive but fall shy